Greek Economy Minister and Deputy PM Yannis Dragasakis on Thursday again sounded “warning bells” over the high level of non-performing loans (NPLs) plaguing Greek banks’ spread sheets.
“We cannot underestimate the fact that Greece is the country with a high level of ‘bad debt’,” he said, in comments to a relevant parliament committee.
“If we are not careful, we may be led to measures that will bring banks to the point of needing fresh capital; and unfortunately, this (capital infusion) may again be footed by the Greek taxpayer,” he warned, while adding:
“We don’t have solutions, as in a manual, there is no guide to deal with the problem.”
Dragasakis also assessed that a new framework to protect primary residences from creditors – given that the current legal protection ends in late February 2018 – will be legislated next month or in early March.
